History

History of the Inlet Village

Due to its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the Loxahatchee River, the area we now think of as the “Inlet Village” was a natural draw to early settlers. An abundance of fish and wildlife and the temperate weather helped to sustain several waterfront settlements throughout its history.

One of the earliest settlements in Palm Beach County, archeological and historical artifacts found in the Inlet Village provide evidence of human inhabitants as early as 500 BC. The Tequesta and Hobe Indians are known to have settled along the shorelines, and these native cultures, as well as early European settlers from France, Spain and England, depended on the waterways to survive. Later, in the mid-1800’s, the Federal government commissioned and built the Jupiter Lighthouse, which helped to establish the settlement that would eventually become the Town of Jupiter.

From the mid-1800’s to the early 1900’s, the Inlet Village area thrived as a small fishing village and was a port for goods being shipped up and down the Atlantic coast. The area around what is known today as Suni-Sands Mobile Home Park was a hub of activity. As the village center for the surrounding area, it also included a hotel, store and church. St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, the first in the area, was built in 1899 where Suni-Sands is today.

A long wharf was used to off-load goods from the boats and onto the rail cars of the Celestial Railroad. The Celestial Railroad was the area’s first rail system, running north and south between Jupiter and Juno Beach.
The area was also recognized as a vacation area. Guests from the north visited the Carlin house and hired fishing guides to explore the Loxahatchee River. In the late 1800’s, Edwin Hooley built a vacation residence that was later sold to Mr. & Mrs. Sperry. The old boat house, complete with a recreation hall on the second floor, can still be seen on the water at Suni-Sands Mobile Home Park. In the 1920’s, various developers contemplated projects in the Inlet Village area, but the Great Depression put a halt to further development plans.

With the construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad and the completion of US Highway One from Jacksonville south to Miami, the import and export of goods moved away from the Inlet and ocean to these new transportation corridors.

The Inlet Village — once was a thriving, working waterfront and commerce center — slowly became dormant. From the mid-1930’s until today, the area has consisted of a variety of uses, from residential to commercial, and roadways and infrastructure have aged.